Graphic card problem?

last SG · 2006-12-29T01:02:48+00:00

Its okay as long as they are supported and we can take ram problem out of the troubleshooting equation. Something close to this was discussed in another topi...

aRcTiC_sTaR SG

Nowadays my com crashes whenever I play Warcraft III. Sometimes it crashes after an hour, sometimes it crashes when I'm running Warcraft III for 15 mins or so.

Before my com crashes, my HDD produces a beep sound that it does on boot up. One beep and it shuts down automatically. It's not a high pitch beep, just the normal sound it produces on bootup. Any idea if it's my AGP acting up? Currently using a budget card (9200SE).

thelesis SG

Could be your Cmos battery problem. Change one and try..

Sekundes SG

lose wiring.
how many slots ram u have ?

Maybe one of ur ram is dead.

ndmmxiaomayi SG

It could be your AGP card. Get a spare graphics card and try.

If it still happens, check for RAM problems, heat problems and hard disk problems.

hobochua SG

Should be wiring problem man…so don worried hardware still ok only need to change wiring for power supply and check bios ok..good luck

aRcTiC_sTaR SG

RAM seems to be okay. I will check on the CMOS battery and if it still happens then I shall ask for advice again. Thanks everyone =)

aRcTiC_sTaR SG

Somehow the problem seems to be pointing at the RAM because my computer had shut down several times even when I was not playing Warcraft III.

On both occasions, it shut down on me when I was running multiple programs (WinAmp, iTunes, MSN Messenger, Skype ++) while I was reencoding songs using CDex.

I have two RAMs, namely a 512meg by Kingston and a 256meg by Corsair. Can someone please advise how best would it be to go about testing which RAM is giving me problems?

XTransbus SG

ATi Sux lol
If computer sudden restart might be driver conflict.
anyway, this is how you determine which is the better ram.

First, see the type of ram. For example you have let's say one pc2100 and the other one is pc2800. It is obvious that the pc2800 is faster than the pc2100. PC2800 is 333mhz while 2100 is 266mhz. and ddr2 is always faster than a ddr.

If you wanna check which one is giving you problems, simple take out both rams. Then you plug in one stick at a time. If the ram is faulty, you should be able to hear several beeps. If it starts normally, try doing the same for the other stick.

My advice to TS, update your graphics card driver. That might help.

orionlight SG

Try plugging in one stick of RAM each time.Then run memtest86.Repeat for another stick for RAM.check for errors. transbus, ATI dun sux so don't make sweeping statements, i am using the x1950pro now and it is running games fine for me without any problems Wink

Farmerseed SG

I am a little confused. So you played W3 and the comp hang or you played W3 and run all those programes and the comp hang? Recording or re-encoding or encoding songs using CDex?

To test the ram is easy just like what the guys above pointed out. Shut down power down PC take out one piece of the ram module and start up and let it run, better run a memtest (its a freeware can download from internet) for a few hours to check for any errors or problems. Power down and take down the current one and plug in the other and test again.

But when the 2 ram used together just let it idle without any programs running will there be an issue?

The 2 ram did you just added one of them you bough new from the shops or you have been using them and the above problem was observed sometime later like now? Are you using 2 ram with diferent latency or what?

Many things and situation leading to what happened has to be answered.

As for graphics card some tough games are picky and ATI based chip may need some adjustment on anti-aliasing so that they can be played well. Updates, patches and graphics drivers should be looked into first if the problem is not due to incompatible ram modules.

As for the encoding and multi-tasking, what is your computer system specifications? A sub-2Ghz processor with Intel 8xx chipset board should fare well with hyperthreading enable, enough to match an A64 3800+ single core in audio and video encoding. When they does that, much of the system resources are diverted and in use. If you computer specs are not in that minimum range and you try multitasking you may get problems.

aRcTiC_sTaR SG

Initially my com shutdown while I was playing W3. I thought that it might be my graphics card giving me problems, but later...

My com shuted down several times while I was re-encoding songs while running WinAmp and iTunes. I never encountered such problems until lately. I tried running W3 after removing the 256 RAM, and my com still shut down =\

While on idle, it doesn't shut down. Most of the times it auto shuts down only when I'm running W3 because at other times I only use my computer for websurfing, online chatting and listening to music.

My 256 is kinda old, bought in 2004, and the 512 (Kingston PC3200 DDR400)was added sometime during 2005.

My processor is a 2.4A GHz, not too sure about the chipset though.

aRcTiC_sTaR SG

Windows cannot find 'memtest86'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the start button, and then click Search.

orionlight SG

brother memtest86 have to be downloaded Laughing

Farmerseed SG

Okay assume we suspect its the ram and it got faulty somehow and we wanna confirm so you can download memtest and run it to see how. Use search engine, memtest86is everywhere.

What about your motherboard specs, might as well give use all the specifications. Have you checked the system requirements (especially graphics card) for W3?

Its to many for you to do try them out one by one. Give all the specs, OS first i try to search for some info and then suggest step by step troubleshooting.

If its an OEM computer (brand ones like Acer Dell etc), please give me the brand and model number. I need to confirm something, since i know the 512 ram must be u add yourself 1 rite?

orionlight SG

best is go download cpu-z and post the screenshots here so we can see your specs.If you find no error after you run the memetest, try downloading the hardisk diagnostics software from your manufacturers web site to check for errors, like that then narrow down the possible faults.Otherwise, we cannot pin point the exact problems.you gotta troubleshoot it part by part although it is very troublesome

aRcTiC_sTaR SG

Screens from running CPU-Z:

XTransbus SG

sry. I'm quite nVidia biased cus i'm too happy with my 8800GTX

Farmerseed SG

Don't seem to be your ram.

I checked the web and many people are having similar problems. Yours is a prescott and heat may also be an issue esp when you start playing games or encode.

Try fixing the graphcis card first.

When was the last time you update your graphics card drivers? Can you update your graphics card drivers? At least to 8.1X. The 9200SE.

orionlight SG

My bad…RAM problem will usually give you BSOD, why don’t you try seed’s method and tell us if it works.Look out for your temperature also using the speedfan(must download) program

orionlight SG

Farmerseed, what do you think are the chances of a faulty or unstable psu being the culprit?Because my old com use to give me such problems with random crashing.I later found out it was due to too much vdrop on the main 12V rail

Just my two cents